| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | | Presented by |  | | | Good Monday morning! Stop me if you’ve heard this one before; A young Jersey City council candidate who grew up in the suburbs takes on the Hudson County machine and wins a seat in mostly-gentrified Ward E, becoming a thorn in the side of the political establishment while gaining popularity with his constituents. Then he runs for mayor. Jersey City Ward E Councilmember James Solomon formally announced his long-anticipated run for mayor Thursday night, joining a crowded field that includes former Gov. Jim McGreevey, Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea, Council President Joyce Watterman, former Jersey City School Board President Mussab Ali and former basketball player/non-superhero Flash Gordon. Solomon’s career trajectory has to this point closely mirrored current Mayor Steve Fulop’s. But as soon as Fulop got in office, he became an important player in the political machine he had fought for so long. Only recently has he run afoul of it. With strong support in Ward E demonstrated by a landslide 2021 reelection and a crowded field, Solomon appears to be a real contender. But if he wins, will he continue on the same trajectory as Fulop? I asked him. “I’ve been independent from the machine from when I first ran in 2017 because I knew we needed to change the way Jersey City does politics. For too long, the machine ran things and took care of themselves instead of working to make life better for everyone else,” Solomon said in a statement. “I’m running for mayor because the stakes are too high to let us go back to a time when the machine ran city hall. I was the first in Jersey City to promise not to take donations from Jersey City developers way back in 2017, and why as mayor I am going to be focused on development that works for Jersey City and not the developers and the lobbyists.” This would be the race to watch next year if everyone in the state wasn’t already running for governor. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Marlene Kalayilparampil, Tom Malinowski, Bruuuuuuuuce!, Samantha Minchello, Ryan Peene, Anna Little QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t want to die fearfully. I want to die affirming that I’ve had this opportunity to be alive in this amazing world and to say ‘goodbye’ and ‘I love you’ to my family and friends.” — Judy Govatos, a Delaware resident who unsuccessfully sued to overturn New Jersey’s Aid in Dying law’s residency requirement. WHERE’S MURPHY? Out-of-state. Lt. Gov. Way will be in Dunellen at 5 p.m. for the homecoming ceremony of Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. | | | | A message from Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind: Atlantic Shores is generating cleaner air, cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, and a healthier, more sustainable future for all New Jerseyans. Led by a team with deep roots in environmental science, the company's first project will decrease polluting greenhouse gases by 4 million tons every year. Plus, Atlantic Shores is investing $50 million in community partnerships like New Jersey's Research and Monitoring Initiative to support the responsible management of marine and coastal resources. Learn more. | | | |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | |
AID IN DYING — New Jersey’s aid-in-dying residency requirement is constitutional, judge says, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: A federal judge on Wednesday found that the state’s residency requirements for its medical aid-in-dying law is constitutional, rejecting a request by groups that sought to open the service to non-New Jersey residents. Federal district judge Renée Marie Bumb wrote in her opinion that “the Constitution does not require New Jersey to extend access to medical aid in dying to nonresidents” and dismissed the lawsuit. Gov. Phil Murphy in 2019 signed a bill into law that allows for physicians to prescribe medications to qualifying terminally ill patients that would end their lives. One provision in the law says that only New Jersey residents could utilize the service, which brought a lawsuit in August 2023 from Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit that wanted to nix the residency requirement. Eliminating the residency requirement could be significant since no states that border New Jersey have aid-in-dying laws.
PARKER NOT MMMKAY — “Jill Mayer continues bid for pension and judicial paycheck,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “The New Jersey Appellate Court this week heard Jill Mayer’s bid to keep her state pension while earning a full-time salary as a Superior Court Judge. In the meantime, Mayer continues to hold a judgeship hostage; the State Senate confirmed her in January 2022, but 33 months later, she has still not taken the oath of office. Instead, Mayer is looking for a way to take her $127,000 annual pension from nearly 27 years in the attorney general’s office while also receiving a $211,000-per-year judicial salary … In the meantime, the 55-year-old Mayer has been camping out at a politically powerful South Jersey law firm, Parker McCay, while squatting on a judgeship the state judiciary no longer considers to be vacant.” — “What to know about the new voting machines appearing in some — but not all — New Jersey counties” — Moran: “Why good charter schools fear the scandal over salaries” — “Van Drew plans hearing on electric bill increases, says legislation pending” | | BIDEN TIME | |
GOOGLES ‘HOW MANY POSTAGE STAMPS WILL A GOLD BAR BUY?’ — “As Bob Menendez seeks a new trial, letters attest to his character,” by The Record’s Kristie Cattafi: “While former Sen. Bob Menendez awaits his sentencing in late October, letters testifying to the strength of his character are being filed in federal court as part of his efforts to seek a new trial … Since August, five letters attesting to Menendez's character have been sent to U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein, including one from a 91-year-old attorney and another from the founder and president of the Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation for Adult Autism. Daniel Krivit, a 91-year-old practicing attorney … detailed the good Menendez has done for northern New Jersey school districts and also cited Menendez's success in obtaining federal funds that transformed the ‘rotting docks’ of Hoboken into today's waterfront. Krivit's letter also spoke of Menendez's ‘countless acts of kindness’ and his life of public service … Joan Dublin, president and CEO of Metropolitan Family Health Network, wrote to Stein that Menendez has inspired her and her work and said she hoped that the judge will apply the same compassion that Menendez has shown for so many.”
TIRED: THE WHO’S TOMMY. WIRED: THE WHERE’S TOMMY — “Kean’s cloak of invisibility,” by InsiderNJ’s Fred Snowflack: “Tom H. Kean Jr. won his CD-7 seat two years ago by not really engaging with the press or having public events. He’s following the same pattern this year as he seeks reelection … But do voters in a district that ranges over at least parts of six counties in central and western Jersey care? In other words, are some people going to vote against Kean simply because he doesn’t do interviews or public events. (By that, I mean campaign rallies etc. that are advertised in advance and open to all comers.) Sue Altman thinks they do … Altman was hosting her second town hall of the week; Kean was holding a closed fundraising event just a few miles away in Long Valley. Morris County Republicans were paying attention. They asked supporters to show up and ask Altman tough questions. ‘I want the difficult questions. I invite the difficult questions,’ Altman said in response to the Republicans’ plan. One such question was about a tweet Altman made back in 2020 about ‘defunding the police.’ Republicans, not surprisingly, want to talk about this. Altman has not shied away from it. She said today: ‘It was a mistake,’ and one that she has 'owned up to.’” — Gottheimer: “We must safeguard our democracy from foreign and domestic threats” — “These people were kept from attending their court hearings. Now they're suing” — NY Mag correspondent placed on leave for relationship with RFK Jr. | | | | A message from Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind:   | | | | | LOCAL | |
WHO WILL TAKE UP SACCO’S CHARGE TO REDUCE PENALTIES FOR OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT? — “Fired employee files suit, says N.J. housing authority was running OT fraud scheme,” by NJ Advance Media’s Matthew Enuco: “A former employee of the North Bergen Housing Authority has accused the agency of fraud in paying out overtime to employees that did not work extra hours, a new lawsuit filed in Hudson County claims. Rhonda Valle, an Ocean County resident and former employee in the payroll and human resources department of the North Bergen Housing Authority, accused two agency officials of cutting her overtime hours and then demanding that she pay other employees for hours she claims they did not work, the complaint filed on Sept. 3 states … Valle also accused agency director Gerald Sanzari of long-term use of agency money for personal expenses, carrying on an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate employee and improper personal use of low-income housing from the agency … Nick Bond, a spokesperson for the North Bergen Housing Authority, said Friday that Sanzari had resigned as executive director, citing health reasons. ‘The North Bergen Housing Authority strongly denies the allegations outlined in the complaint and our attorneys will be vigorously defending against them in court,’ Bond said Friday.”
HOOTON — “Boonton cops with the save: Ungrateful owl is freed after getting trapped in soccer net,” by The Daily Record’s William Westhoven: “Police did not score a goal, but were credited with a save when two officers rescued an owl that got itself trapped in a soccer net. The timely assist took place Wednesday afternoon at Rockaway Valley Aerodrome Fields, a township park off Powerville Road that includes multiple soccer pitches. Responding to a report, Sgt. Christopher Chicoris and Patrolman Colin Yuill found the owl tangled in the net. They donned gloves to safely secure the owl, then used clippers to cut the strings of the goal while preventing injuries to the bird … ‘Not even a thank-you,’ one of the officers — seen in a video of the rescue — jokes when the owl quickly flies away as soon as it is set free.” POMP GOES THE DEAL — “Fulop makes case for Jersey City Pompidou abatement deal: we’ll become ‘global city’,” by NJ Advance Media’s Joshua Rosario: “Please, Jersey City! Pompidou it! Mayor Steve Fulop is making the case for the ‘Centre Pompidou x Jersey City’ as a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’ just a week before the city council decides the project’s fate. While most believed the project to be dead after the state withdrew millions in funding, Fulop decided to stick with the project, which he says has been mislabeled as solely a museum. The three-term mayor and 2025 gubernatorial candidate blames himself, but want to set the record straight. ‘It is constantly portrayed as a museum, which to most people represents a place that hangs art on the wall and focuses on a display, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,’ Fulop said in an hour-long, in-person interview with The Jersey Journal Wednesday … The crux of the revitalized plan is a 30-year abatement for KRE Group’s two 50-story towers on 808 Pavonia Ave., which provides the city with a 100,000-square-foot 'box' in the second tower." — “Fulop encounters hostile Jersey City crowd at JSQCA’s 4.5-hour Pompidou meeting” CRITICS SAY FULOP IS ANTI-CHRIST — “Fulop: ‘Why would you go’ to Christ Hospital?” by The Jersey Journal’s Teri West: “Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop dropped a bombshell on embattled Hudson County hospital network CarePoint Health, saying no one would go to Christ Hospital if they had a choice while calling on the state to install new leadership. ‘Nobody would go to Christ Hospital today voluntarily, right? Why would you go?’ Fulop said in an interview with The Jersey Journal Wednesday. He also called on current CEO Dr. Achintya Moulick and the leadership to be replaced after its three hospitals — Bayonne Medical Center, Christ and Hoboken University Medical Center — have fallen tens of millions in debt.” IT COULD BE A SUPERFUN WATERPARK — “EPA: Newark Superfund site still too toxic to excavate,” by NJ Spotlight News’ Brenda Flanagan: “What lies beneath this cement cap along the riverfront in Newark’s Ironbound makes it one of America’s most toxic Superfund sites in the country. The Diamond Alkali chemical plant manufactured Agent Orange, used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War, and it poisoned the site with dioxin — a cancer-causing byproduct so toxic, the EPA sent workers in hazmat moon-suits to vacuum the streets back in the early 1980s. Residents still remember that, and more than 40 years later during a public hearing this week on the site’s future, they were still asking the EPA about its plans. “What’s the plan to keep the community safe? In the past, the community got screwed,” complained one Ironbound resident named Sharon.” THE BASKETBALL COURT IS ALL PEOPLES’ PROPERTY — “Hip-hop hooray: Legends Naughty By Nature now have their own N.J. basketball court,” by NJ Advance Media’s Amy Kuperinsky: “The basketball court at East Orange’s Oval Park has just been Naughtified. The city dedicated the court to Illtown legends Naughty By Nature with a ceremony Friday. Grammy winners Vincent ‘Vin Rock’ Brown; Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss; and DJ KayGee, aka Keir Gist, were on hand to talk about the city that launched them to stardom. The rebuilding of the basketball court, where they once played, is part of ongoing renovations in Oval Park.” — “Another Hudson mayor joins CarePoint Health board, seeking transparency amid restructuring discussions” — “Nation's oldest mayor Tinton Falls, N.J.'s Vito Perillo celebrates 100th birthday” — “Judge: Residents won’t vote on Toms River animal shelter” — “Ex-[Flemington] councilman gets four years in jail for selling cocaine” — “Cannabis criminal record could be leg up in Newark's marijuana biz” | | | | A message from Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind: Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind is generating cleaner air, cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, and a healthier, more sustainable future for all New Jerseyans.
Led by a team of purpose-driven professionals with deep roots in environmental science, the company's first project will result in a reduction of 4 million tons of greenhouse gases every year, which is equivalent to pulling 770,000 cars off the road.
Plus, Atlantic Shores is investing $50 million in community development partnerships like New Jersey's Research and Monitoring Initiative to support the responsible management of marine and coastal resources.
The Atlantic Shores team is committed to helping New Jersey reach its clean energy goals and improving the environment for communities throughout the state. Learn more about the current project, which is just the first phase of a long-term commitment to making New Jersey a national leader in clean energy. | | | | | EVERYTHING ELSE | |
HOLES IN THE DATA — “How many bagels do NJ residents eat each year? Find out how we compare to other states,” by The Record’s Lori Comstock: “Shane Co.'s The Loupe, which covers a variety of trends and news, surveyed over 3,000 Americans and concluded that while the number of bagels eaten in New Jersey is higher than the average, it pales in comparison to other states … New Jersey residents consumed an average 48 bagels each year, which breaks down to four bagels eaten each month. Seems doable and the number does exceed the national average of 39 each year across most of the states, minus Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming who were not included due to low survey responses. But it was our neighbor to the north, Maine, who knocked it out of the ballpark with an impressive 73 bagels consumed on average yearly, which amounts to a solid six bagels eaten each month, the survey found. Delaware, which shares the Delaware River and Delaware Bay with New Jersey to the southwest, isn't far behind with an average 72 bagels eaten yearly, on average.”
METEOROLOGISTS MILLI AND VANILLI BEG TO DIFFER — “Flood warnings up for the Jersey Shore, and don’t blame the rain,” by The Philadephia Inquirer’s Anthony R. Wood and Amy S. Rosenberg: “The vegetation at the Jersey Shore may be justifiably moisture-starved, but for the last few days some of the water-clogged streets have been turning Venetian, and that trend may continue into Monday. After several days of nuisance flooding in the beach towns, the National Weather Service on Saturday issued a coastal flood warning for Cape May County, in effect through 5 p.m. Sunday. In addition, flood advisories are up for Cape May and Atlantic Counties through 5 p.m. Monday. Significant road flooding was evident Saturday in Sea Isle City, Ventnor — where high waters forced the closing of the Dorset Avenue Bridge during the afternoon — and elsewhere.” — “Rutgers professor on leave following accusations of animal abuse in former lab’ — “Nurses in Newark demand lower patient-to-staff ratios as contract talks heat up”
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